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Student Experience Blog

Rush and Such

Tue, Sep 18, 2012

While I was still a senior in high school comparing various colleges and what they had to offer, one of the lowest priorities on my list was finding a campus with a thriving Greek Life. I never saw myself joining a fraternity, ever. I identified more with Lewis and Gilbert from Revenge of the Nerds than I did with Bluto and Otter in National Lampoon's Animal House, two films which colored my expectations of Greeks before I ever actually met one. That sort of fraternity life was hardly a good reason to look into an institution of higher education. I was blinded by my prejudice; the thought that Greeks would be different in real life never crossed my mind. In fact, before graduation, a good friend and I had an animated discussion on the topic of Greek Life, which was a huge factor in his decision to attend his school of choice. He defended the Greek lifestyle and couldn't wait to begin rushing, while I dismissed it as something trivial and immature.

Then I actually got to know Greeks, and I realized that my perceptions couldn't be more incorrect. Greek Life is not all about partying, and it's not full of jocks. These were diverse, caring individuals in organizations that make a positive difference in their communities. It was silly of me to think they would all be toga wearing hard partiers with 0.0 GPAs. And the more I got to know the brothers of Delta Tau Delta, the more I related to their values. So I rushed, pledged and initiated last spring. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Now that it's our official rush week here on campus, I get to see what the recruitment process is like from the other side. I helped out with advertising our events last week by preparing a couple posters and hanging them around campus (neither of which are nearly as nifty as the one pictured here, but every bit helps), and I'm very excited to meet the new guys who come out to our events. Yesterday was our kick off event: Ultimate Frisbee in the Quad, followed by dinner together at Simplot Cafe. I was happy to meet several freshmen, and was thrilled to see their interest in our fraternity.

I wonder what their impression of Greek Life was before meeting us. Was it positive, like my friend's? Was it negative, like mine used to be? Are they neutral, perhaps feeling us out before arriving at a conclusion? In any case, it's thrilling to know that in a few weeks time, I'll have new brothers to add to my ever-growing C of I family. I can't wait.